Andy Burnham’s rates cut for venues shows he is a man of action

Music venues are vital to communities (Picture: Getty)

For years, it  has felt that with successive governments, the argument for protecting grassroots music venues has been treated as a nice idea stuck in the folder marked ‘we must get round to this’. 

Today, in his first week as Prime Minister, Andy Burnham opened that folder and finally did something about it.

The announcement is simple. From April 2027, live music venues, alongside pubs and other hospitality venues, will receive a 20 per cent relief on their business rates, on top of the 15 per cent already granted this year. 

At Music Venue Trust, we support grassroots music venues, and we know how important this news is. 

For places operating on margins...